Chess Notes

The year started off poorly, but it picked up in the last few months. My FIDE rating went from 2492 to 2540. Along the way, though, I dropped to 2464(!) after the Reykjavik Open in March.  At 2540, I’m now #23 amongst active US players (not all of whom actually live or ever play in the US) and #482 in the world.

Although I’m no longer at the GM House in Richmond anymore, the other members have all made some improvements: Josh Friedel moved up from 2511 to 2549, Jesse Kraai moved up from 2506 to 2509, and Sam Shankland (the newest member of the house) moved up from 2453 to 2491.

Now that they include FIDE-rated events for USCF rating calculations, my USCF rating went from 2523 to 2606 (though I had dropped to 2490 after the Reykjavik Open in March). It seems a bit silly to me rate these events for USCF purposes when there are no other USCF-rated players in them, but it makes more sense than being able to pay to selectively rate those events abroad in which you did well. Strange as that sounds, that was actually the old policy. If I play in the USCL this next season, though, the team can still use my old rating of 2499 if they choose to go with the September or October supplements.

With those ups and downs, I managed to notch two tournament wins (both were shared), the first in San Sebastian (Spain) and the second at the SPICE Cup (the B Group, in Texas).

Travel Notes

I visited 5 countries (India, France, Iceland, Spain, and Canada) this year. Most of that travel was for chess purposes, but I did some sightseeing along the way. I’ll visit a few more countries on my upcoming trip in 2010, as I’ll be going to Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, England, France, and Belgium.

The only repeat tournament I had was the World Open (that is, it was the only tournament I had ever played before, and my last World Open appearance was in 1997). That was in stark contrast to my chess travel when I was at Cornerstone, when I would pretty much only play during the summer, and it’d be the same 2 or 3 tournaments on the Catalan circuit in Spain.

I spent 175 days outside the Bay Area this year, or about 48% of the year. Most of that travel was on airplanes, where I logged about 91,000 miles! That’s now quite Up in the Air territory (an excellent movie, for what it’s worth), but it might put me in the same ballpark. On the plus side, I’ve got Premier Status.

Sports Notes

None of the teams I was rooting for (mostly just the SF Giants) did anything notable in the sporting arena. I still have some hope for the SJ Sharks, but their history of playoff “runs” doesn’t necessarily bode well for this season. Hopefully that’s a reverse jinx.

In fantasy sports, though, it was a banner year. I played in one baseball and one football league, and I won both! Both were mostly composed of current and former Cornerstone Research employees. I had won the baseball league before (in 2007, when I was still working there), but this was my first football win. Booyah!

Best wishes to everybody for 2010!

Most fantasy football leagues finished up this past weekend so activity will be dropping off quickly.  However, keep in mind that MFS hosts Super Bowl Squares Pools for free and are running a public pool that pays out nice cash prizes and raises a little money for the American Cancer Society (see The Brankster’s post for details).   Of course, you may be a bit bitter about fantasy football if you lost a Championship in the waning seconds of the Vikings-Bears shootout last night.  There is nothing worse than having a 6-10 point lead and have to sweat out Sidney Rice against the Bears.  Of course, you have to stomach the whole game with a slowly dwindling lead until face with 4^th-and-goal with seconds left.  ARGH, TD to Rice.  Face it, you expected it to happen.  At least you weren’t the guy who was tied for the lead going into OT and then lost it on AP’s fumble.  Wild, wacky way to end the season.

Speaking of curtain calls, do you think Jim Caldwell should have at least let Peyton take a bow before shelving him for the second half?  Expect Marvin Lewis to give the Jets another hand this week and to rest his weary players.  Between returning from SD after a draining game and then Chris Henry’s funeral, the Bengals went through the motions against KC and could use a week to decompress.  The Bengals owe the rest of the league nothing.  They, like the Colts, are in it for the Super Bowl and nothing more.  The Colts-Jets game or the Pats-Texans game are the ones where MFS has been tailored to help you out.  Look into our settings for Team QB and In-game player changes for next year.  They are nice features to help you adjust to injuries or end-of-season benching.  In the case of in-game changes, you can schedule it to turn on at any time; very common to see this feature utilized during the fantasy football playoff weeks.

As far as fantasy football goes, it was a typical year, even with last night’s dramatics.  Plenty of disappointing top picks, plenty of sleepers, many moves that we all second-guessed,…and the long wait until next season.  Fantasy Football is a nice distraction when your favorite team sucks (see Chicago Bears).  It is also much more enjoyable than all the reality TV crap that is on the airwaves, not to mention all the tabloid shows that talk about people that do not merit the breath or ink that they garner, such as the Gosselyn losers, that nasty Octomom creature or anyone involved in Madoff’s theft ring.  I only want to hear about these people when something bad happens to them.

Oops, after re-reading that last sentence, I realize that the Christmas spirit quickly departed me.  I may need another 24-hour A Christmas Story marathon.  Of course, I would prefer to spin the DVD over and over again than watch it on TBS and have to deal with the plethora of commercials about the idiot programs that they run on that network.  I sure liked them a lot better when they were strictly reruns.  If I only had my Red Ryder BB Gun….

For those of you who regularly check out the site, you may remember past posts in which I referenced my pride and joy, the Compton Honkies. The Honkies are my fantasy football team and a proud member of the Pearce Fantasy League. We’re known for our bad-ass ways and a penchant for winning in the face of adversity, at least until this year.

Though other incarnations of the Compton Honkies have found ways to win in 2009 (one Honkies squad even took home a championship in a Yahoo! league), the original Honkies organization has compiled a 1-12 record (soon to be 1-13, after our final game) in the PFL this year and is the first team in the league’s history to owe money on top of our $50 entrance fee (each owner pays $50 up front to play, then has the chance to win or lose money on a weekly basis based on various results, all the while competing for a much larger payout in the championship). In short, we sucked badly.

With that in mind, I typed up this “press-release” for my fictional ballclub and submitted it to our league message board, where it now resides. I’ve reproduced it here for your enjoyment, though I warn you in advance that some parts of it are rather crude. In fact, I’d almost guarantee that a few of you will be offended, but whatever. There’s not much going on in the sports world right now, and I have to entertain you somehow. You’re like a child, you know that? Anyways, here goes…

For Immediate Distribution
12/28/09
Compton Honkies

While the Honkies organization has been in financial disarray for some time now, it is only recently that we discovered we owe creditors more than $20 million in unpaid dues. By filing for bankruptcy, we intend to do what every other minority in America does and continue running up a tab despite having no money to spend whatsoever (except the Chinese, who would jump off buildings or blow themselves up before bringing dishonor to their family name by admitting failure).

The Honkies were hit extremely hard by the economic crisis in 2009, in combination with a 1-12 (soon to be 1-13) record, and in turn an all-time low in attendance.

It didn’t help that shortly before the home opener, a gang member performing an initiation ritual beat up, defecated on, and urinated on the team mascot before setting the official Honkies team flag on fire and letting it burn on the front lawn of a prominent white attorney who happens to make his home near Honkies Stadium. Of course, the irony of the situation is that R. Kelly was our acting mascot during the ordeal, so for many observers this was seen as justice rather than a blatant attack on the Honkies organization as a whole. We have never recovered from this horrible incident.

To help correct our financial inefficiencies, the Honkies have hired a Jewish man to assist in our bookkeeping both now and in the future. We found him at a Noah’s Bagels, where his previous job experience included handling cash transactions in a timely fashion, as well as adorning baked goods with creamy delightfulness. He’s 17 years old and is in the 95th percentile of his high school class. He’ll also act as our team representative in dealing with criminal cases involving our players. Because we don’t have anyone else capable of speaking to the police.

With 2009 just about behind us now, the Honkies intend on making 2010 a year of hope, renewal, and a return to prominence.

Thank you.

Yep, I think we managed to hit just about every racial stereotype right on the head in that one. That’s all for now. Good day.

As the NFL season winds down, MFS has opened up registration for its free Super Bowl Squares Pools.  Feel free to create your own pool and configure it as you wish.  Once again, we will be running a Public pool that will donate 10% of the entrance fees to charity.  This year, MFS will be making its donation to the American Cancer Society.  If you would like to buy squares in the MFS Public Squares pool(s), we are running a $25/square pool and a $10/square pool.  Log into MFS and click on the “Join An Existing Squares Pool” button and enter the ID/pswd for the pool you’d like to join.  The login info and settings are listed below:

For many fantasy football owners this time of year is special not only because of the holidays, but because it’s fantasy football playoff season.  (Unfortunately for me and my co-owner, the season was lost on draft night).  Apparently Fidelity does not share the same appreciation for fantasy football – the company recently fired 4 employees who were involved in various fantasy football leagues.  Fidelity equated fantasy football to a form of gambling, which is prohibited by company policy.

Dan Schwartz of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog has the story and employment law analysis:

Fantasy football owners may complain about the decision or deem it to be overly harsh, but employers typically have a great deal of flexibility in setting rules of behavior in the workplace.

Where the company may have missed the boat is its designation of fantasy football as “gambling” in its purest form.  It’s not really betting or wagering – its mainly just a game. While the “owners” who were fired put up $20 each, it was part of a social relationship as well, which is typically another exception to the no gambling rule.

Click here to read the entire article.  Dan lists a number of “takeaways” for employers, but I think that this suggestion is particularly worthy of consideration:

Consider “blessing” such activities in a non-monetary fashion. Some employers have small office gatherings around some sports event to build morale and teamwork. 

On the surface this  case appears to be the classic scenario of legality vs. practicality.  Can Fidelity justifiably and legally take this action?  Of course.  Is it good policy or a realistic portrayal of fantasy sports as gambling?  Probably not.

Argh.  All that hard work and planning to be ready for the end of the season and, in a flash, it is all gone.  That was not the New Orleans Saints talking, that was many folks who set their fantasy football teams up for the playoffs as well as those few still surviving in their Last Man Standing pools….until last weekend.  Those folks ended up slouched over with their mouth agape looking at one another saying “what just happened?”.  That scene actually played out in the end zone in the final seconds of the Falcons-Jets game as Tony G. caught the game-winner while standing in the center of 5 NYJ DBs,

Seasoned fantasy football participants begin looking at NFL matchups for weeks 14-17 around week 9-10 and look for the cherry matchups that should produce high points for the team’s players…or other teams’ players and then try to acquire those players.  You always have to be wary of players getting sat this time of year to rest for the playoffs so you want players on your team that will produce and play all four quarters.  Additionally, if you make it through the first half of the NFL season and your Survivor Pool is still going, if you can only use a team once, you begin to look at Week 17 matchups and work backward to Week 9 and begin mapping out a strategy for which team should be picked on which week.

Normally, those are solid strategies that pay off year-in and year-out.  This year, with notable exceptions, it cost you.  So much for Ray Rice, DeAngelo Williams, Drew Brees and the like delivering as you expected.  How many of you cried as you stared in disbelief at Jerome Harrison on your bench or the waiver wire?  How many were stung by your opponent playing Jamal Charles after he picked him up in Week 9 after you cut him in Week 8?  You either watched your stud running backs deliver little in Week 15 or lucked into your waiver pick-ups from earlier advancing you in the playoffs.  There seemed to be little middle ground.  Getting Maurice Morris a second time and starting him…luck or sheer determination?!  The coin flip decision on picking up and starting Michael Bush or Justin Forsett and having it come up Bush was a thing of beauty, wasn’t it?  No one knows that you flipped it 5 times in hopes that the odds would eventually say to pick up Forsett, but, luckily, they never did.  BTW, the top 5 RBs in yardage in Week 15; Harrison, Charles, Bush, Morris and Beanie Wells.

It was just one of those unpredictable weeks.  It is bad enough that we have “game time” decisions to worry about week-in and week-out.  But now, we have to deal with fluke performances as well as Mother Nature unleashing her fury on the East Coast and not having a clue how it will affect the playing field in Philly or Buffalo.  As far as your Survivor Pool goes, one has to learn how to make second half adjustments.  Sure, Denver looked like a lock in Week 15 at the midway point, especially after they beat Oakland 23-3 in Oakland already.  But, as the second half rolled along, the Raiders flew high every other week…and against good competition.  The Philly win could have been a fluke in Week 6, but beating Cincy in Week 11 and Pitt in Week 13, almost guaranteed a win in Denver in Week 15.  OK, no way I thought that either, especially if you look at how they executed their game-winning drive.  Maybe the Fidelity folks are correct in calling all Fantasy Sports “gambling” cuz there is no such thing as a “lock”….unless you are expecting Jay “Rex Grossman” Cutler to throw a few picks on a weekly basis.

If you need to pick up some players for this week, I already mentioned Michael Bush and Maurice Morris.  Jamal Charles and Beanie Wells are already fully owned.  As for Jerome Harrison, who knows.  He may only get 5 carries this week since no one has a clue what is happening in Cleveland, so I am leaving a few guys carry over.

Waiver Wire Finds:

RB: Chris Jennings (CLE) – He had 20 carries two weeks ago and did get a few carries last week to spell Harrison since Cleveland had no reason to throw the ball.  BTW, how did Brady Quinn get hurt if all he was doing was handing off?  Maybe Harrison stepped on his foot on his last TD.  It would have been the only contact he had on the play as KC seemed uninterested in tackling him.

WR: Joshua Cribbs (CLE) – Maybe Cribbs got little action last week since he was beat from returning kickoffs!  KC put some points on the board, so he had plenty of opportunities and, of course, he took two to the house, which worked out just fine for getting you some points if your league is configured to reward the position player with a Special Teams TD should he score one.

Today I’ll be tracking my two semifinal games, as well as the heated AFC Wild Card race.  Not the Bears though.  They make me sad.

12:03 – It’s sad that a large segment of the population knows “Who Are You?” as the CSI theme song and nothing else.

12:05 – Miami/Tennessee is one of the biggest games today.  Happy that we get it here in Chicago.  Pretty odd interception there by Vontae Davis.  He must know he’s on TV in Illinois.

12:12 – What’s the deal with Houston running backs?  Arian Foster just fumbled.  Why can’t anyone on that team hold onto the ball?

12:14 – Thomas DeCoud with coup de possession, intercepting Mark Sanchez.  Couldn’t resist.

12:15 – How is Shawn Michaels still wrestling?  He’s gotta be pushing 50.

12:20 – Justin Gage pulls down a touchdown.  Not that we could still use him in Chicago or anything.  I mean, he’s just 6′4 and had a 1,000 yard season right after leaving the Bears.

12:27 – I’m sure Ricky Williams fits right in in a university setting as he finishes his degree at Texas.

12:29 – Boom.  Larry Fitzgerald with a one-yard TD catch.

12:35 – I love that the hellish weather on the East Coast moved a couple games back.  It’s always kind of depressing when there’s just three afternoon games.

12:36 – Ross and I just had this exchange:

Ross: “Teddy Ginn is gonna take this punt to the house.”

Me: “If he catches it.”

Ross: “He’ll catch it.”

He muffed it.  But Miami recovered.  He might have the worst hands of any receiver in the league.

12:42 – Randy Moss does a beautiful toe dance to haul in a touchdown.  I have a sneaking suspicion he isn’t done today.

12:56 – Love those throwbacks for the Rams.

12:58 – Tim Hightower?  Come on, reward Beanie on the goal-line.

1:06 – No Andre Johnson…No Andre Johnson…No Andre Johnson.

1:10 – Jamaal Charles, 47 yards for a touchdown.  He’s a beast.  How high does he go in fantasy drafts next year?

1:16 – Really nice catch by Justin Gage again.  Nice ball from VY too.  He really should have been starting much earlier on this season.

1:19 – Josh Cribbs just returned his second kick for a touchdown.  The first was for 100 yards and the second was 103.  I wonder if that has ever happened before.

1:20 – Danny Amendola just caught his first career touchdown — and it doubled as Keith Null’s first career touchdown pass.  Who gets to keep the ball?  Maybe they’ll cut it in half, like Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison did when they broke the record for most TD passes/receptions by one combo.

1:22 – Is that Wayne Chrebet?  Tim Dwight?  No, it’s Danny Woodhead!  The Jets always have to have that little white receiver on the roster.

1:25 – Just got confirmation that Cribbs did set an NFL record with those kick returns.

1:46 – And we’re back from halftime.

1:50 – Matt Schaub fumbles and the Rams recover.  Pretty surprised with how this game is going.  Definitely thought Houston would win relatively easily.

1:55 – The Falcons just pitched out of shotgun on 3rd and 1.  Short of a QB kneel, I think that’s the worst play you can run on 3rd and 1.

2:01 – Sweet return by Louis Delmas for the TD.  Can’t believe he was able to stay in bounds.

2:02 – AH!  Kevin Walter just caught a touchdown.  I was debating him and Percy Harvin and went with Harvin.

2:02 – Matt Turk just snubbed Kris Brown on a high five after an extra point.  Clearly he’s learned his lesson with Brown’s sucking this year.

2:15 – So Chad Henne was so pumped over his nice touch pass earlier in the drive that he tried another one — that he underthrew for an interception.

2:22 – I wonder what my life will be like when Jason Hanson and Ryan Longwell are no longer in it.  They just seem like a stabilizing force.

2:25 – We’ve got double box action on the Red Zone channel.

2:26 – I think the Browns were gonna toss that to Cribbs, but Quinn just saw a parting of the Red Sea (literally, they’re playing the Chiefs) in front of him.

2:27 – Joe Thomas (Badger!) and Lawrence Vickers throw great blocks leading Jerome Harrison to the end zone.

2:32 – Miami and Arizona are both in the red zone.  I demand double box action Scott Hanson!

2:33 – Beanie Wells runs through a series of tackles on his way to an 18-yard touchdown.  Beautiful.  He runs like a man.

2:46 – Lots of one score games, looks like it should be an exciting half hour or so.

2:49 – Wow!  Brian Hartline plays DB then receiver, stripping an interception and then catching the pass himself.

2:57 – Mark Sanchez throws a brutal pass to end the game, and most likely the season, for the Jets.  Can’t say I’m surprised.

3:02 – That was the worst touchdown celebration ever by Drew Stanton.

3:04 – Did Jeff Fisher really let the clock run out there?  That seems incredibly boneheaded.  They would have had great field position and Rob Bironas has one of the biggest legs in the league.  Very surprising move.

3:10 – Brutal pass by Henne gets picked off and it should set up a field goal opportunity for the Titans.

3:14 – Did KC really throw a hail mary from the 25?  What?  They could have just ran a normal play.

3:17 – Thom Brennaman: “Matt Forte is closing in on 700 yards rushing this season.”  Unfortunately, it’s not week six or seven or even eight.

3:18 – And Cutler does exactly what I was complaining about, throwing to a receiver blindly assuming he’ll be open because the play was designed for him.  It led to his 23rd pick of the year.

3:32 – I mean, it’s comical at this point.  Can he get to 30 picks?

3:39 – Ray Rice just keeps breaking off huge runs.  He’ll be a top-four pick in fantasy leagues next year.

3:44 – Did Vernon Davis not know the pass was coming his way?  That’s the only explanation besides terrible effort.

4:01 – I’d really rather see a slant to Olsen there as opposed to a fade.  Let him use his size and strength instead of counting on the pass so much.

4:08 – Sick punt return by Bennett for the TD.  Even though the season is over, it’s nice to clap while watching the Bears.

4:13 – Mason Crosby misses a 34-yard field goal.  The amount of missed kicks this year has been ridiculous.

4:19 – Not sure taking Joe Flacco in the red zone makes much sense.

4:29 – Can’t believe they didn’t call a penalty on Hines Ward for that crackback.  Someone is gonna light him up one of these days.

4:32 – Brian Billick after a running into the kicker penalty: “This changes the price of poker here.”  Billick is good for a few lines like that per game.

4:37 – Aaron Rodgers runs one in.  Man I love that guy.

4:45 – Wow, Santonio just snatched that ball out of the air.  Great catch and run.

4:50 – Leonard Weaver was jawing with a 49er defender while the Eagles were sprinting up to the line to kill the clock.  He nearly cost them a shot at a field goal.  How dumb do you have to be to do that?

4:57 – Skokie’s own Rashard Mendenhall: Eight carries, 34 yards and a touchdown.  He also has two catches for 13 yards.

5:05 – And Forte’s fumble makes it four turnovers for the Bears.

5:11 – Gus Johnson on a Broncos-Raiders scrape: “Now we got a fight.  It looks like a good one.”  Gotta love Gus Johnson.

5:14 – Scott Hanson is disgusted with the Bengals’ penalties.

5:16 – It looks like it’s a lot warmer in San Diego than it is in Chicago.

5:20 – Love the decision by the 49ers to go for it on 4th and 5 from the Philly 30.  Not enough to gain by kicking the field goal.

5:24 – Josh Freeman just ignored a wide open receiver before firing a ball way behind him.  Great catch by Sammy Stroughter.  That might be the worst thrown completed pass of the season.

5:26 – Sick goal line stand by the Broncos.  A home loss to the Raiders would be brutal for them.

5:35 – Pretty bad drop by Antonio Gates leads to a pick of Philip Rivers by Keith Rivers.

5:43 – Can’t believe the Bears punted on 4th and 2 from their own 44 down by 24 points.  Have some pride and go for it.

5:53 – Are they really delaying the game in Denver for a laser pointer?  Come on, let’s get going.

5:59 – Our first Caleb Hanie sighting of the season!  And guess what?  He must be watching Cutler closely from the sideline because he just threw an interception.

6:01 – It happened a few minutes ago, but I feel like the Broncos should have went for the 4th and goal from the three instead of kicking the field goal.  Either way they lose if they give up a touchdown, and the Raiders would have to drive 97 yards — with JaMarcus Russell leading them — to get that score.

6:10 – J.P. Losman is in for the Raiders.  This is hilarious.  But the question is, isn’t he better than Russell?

6:20 – Scott Hanson just said they’re trying to “re-establish contact” with the frozen transmission in the Denver game.  Does he think he’s in the control room for Apollo 13?  He said it not once, not twice, but three times.

6:22 – And after the go-ahead touchdown, Gus Johnson compared Russell to Johnny Unitas.  It’s safe to say that’s the first time that comparison has ever been made.

6:25 – Denver has Oakland right where they want them.  I’m sure Josh McDaniels is drawing up the tip to Brandon Stokley play right now.

As if the financial industry has not suffered enough in the public eye over the past year, Fidelity Investments just upped the ante in the fantasy sports world.  They recently fired four employees on the basis that they used company time to participate in gambling talk; discussing fantasy football over IM!  Now, if you pay attention to MFS, we do discuss gambling quite a bit in our columns and our leagues always involve cash payouts, but let’s be real here.  Fantasy sports may be a non-work topic in all other walks of life, but so is discussing the commute to work, the current number of Bogies that have come forward about transgressions with Tiger Woods or replying to an email from your mother about when to expect you for your annual Christmas visit.

The funny thing is that the legal profession has passed laws about what defines gambling and betting and added provisions along the way to exclude Fantasy Sports.  I know.   I have had to look into it to safeguard MFS.  So, discussing how poorly Trent Edwards performed against the pathetic Kansas Chiefs pass defense is a far cry from complaining about how Josh Freeman’s five INTs (four in the Red Zone) at Carolina cost you an easy cover, not to mention a four-game parlay.  Also, the last time I played with any investments, it felt a helluva lot like gambling.  Has anyone bought stocks, options, commodities,…and not realized that they were gambling?  PUL-leease.  Though the duration of the bet varies in a financial investment, “predicting” whether the price of a stock/option/commodity increases or decreases is no different than “predicting” whether the Packers would cover the 4-point spread against the Bears.  OK, bad example.  That is a crime.  It falls under “stealing”, but you get my point.  To me, it smells like a way to reduce headcount without paying a severance or unemployment, which is a pittance compared to the bonuses that the executives will make regardless of how well the company performances against the spread in 2009.

Moving on, almost all leagues are in the playoffs now.  Many of you were rewarded with outstanding play last week by your top picks; Chris Johnson, Andre Johnson, Drew Brees or by your Sleepers and waiver wire picks; Ray Rice, Jamal Charles so you had to feel good.  Of course, if you were loaded with Cardinals or faced the aforementioned players, it was one-and-done for you.  Last week was the perfect example of why you need to spread your squad across different teams.  It was good on most weeks to tether QB and WR together; see the Matt Schaub-Andre Johnson production (imagine what they could have done if they needed to play the second half against Seattle!), but, you could easily get burned; see Kurt Warner-Larry Fitzgerald (or Anquan Boldin).  Nice when it works, but devastating when it doesn’t.  Of course, those are risks that one can choose to take in all walks of life, such as, investing your 401K heavily in stock of the company your work for.  Enough already…if you are still active in your leagues, there are a few new movers and shakers on the waiver wire for this week.

Waiver Wire Finds:

RB: Chris Jennings (CLE) – OK, so last week I said Jerome Harrison was a good pick-up for RB from Cleveland.  Oops, it looks like it could be Jennings.  Jennings was getting some touches, but I figured that the Browns would ride Harrison a bit harder for the rest of the year to determine if they wanted him next year or not.  After giving Jennings the ball 20 times last week, it appears that the Browns know who they have slated as their feature back next year.

RB: Arian Foster (HOU) – I figured Ryan Moats would not amount to a full-time back, even after his 3-TD explosion a few weeks back.  So, with Steve Slaton on the shelf for the year, Houston appears to be turning to Foster to see what he has to offer after figuring out that Moats and Chris Brown actually give them very little.  Definitely give Foster a chance against the Rams this weekend if you have any question about who to slot as your flex or second RB.

WR: Joshua Cribbs (CLE) – What?  Two Browns?  Well, Cribbs is a special talent.  He has always excelled at returning kicks, but, it appears that Cleveland is going to use him at many spots going forward.  They have tried him at WR this year and he has come up with scores when the ball got past the defender.  Now, they are trying in the backfield as well.  This guy can may plays, so, if they are getting him the ball enough, he becomes a sneaky play at WR, especially with the Chiefs on the other side of this ball in Week 15.

WR: Devin Aromashodu (CHI) – One of the most enjoyable names to pronounce in the NFL.  With the other Devin hobbling and not performing, the Bears are giving Aromashodu a chance to show what he has and he did very well against the Packers last weekend.  If you need WR help, why not give him a shot against the Ravens this weekend?  You know Matt Forte won’t do much on the ground, so Jay Cutler will put the ball in the air 40-50 times.  Though his favorite targets vary from week to week, you can deny that he wasn’t shy about looking Aromashodu’s way last weekend (12 Looks).

I had such a good time live blogging the Colts and Jaguars on Thursday, that I thought I’d do it again tonight.  After Dallas Clark, Maurice Jones-Drew and Joseph Addai ripped me for 56 points in that game, I need Pierre Thomas to show up tonight.

About ten minutes ago: Deion Sanders said this game will have “futuristic ramifications” for the Cowboys.  I think if they win they get to fly home in a spaceship.

7:26 – Jonathan Vilma remains one of the best coverage linebackers in the league.  Nice play deflecting that pass to Jason Witten.

7:27 – Perfect ball by Tony Romo on a swing pass to Felix Jones.  Really nice touch laying it out in front of Jones.

7:29 – How do you bite on that fake so hard when the receiver doesn’t even get his head around.  Miles Austin has a ton of speed, but that is just bad coverage.

7:30 – This Southwest Airlines commercial is making me crazy.  There has to be a less annoying way to tell me that my bags fly free.

7:35 – Two straight three and outs for the Saints.  Don’t see that too often.

7:36 – Matt Millen: “In years past, you’d hear a ring of boos now.”  Uh, think Matt is getting this confused with his time with the Lions.  Just because it’s indoor football doesn’t mean it’s Detroit, Matt.

7:40 – I don’t think it’s possible for Roy Williams to pick up a first down without signaling afterward.  Doesn’t matter the score.

7:45 – Marion Barber, touchdown.  Cowboys up 14-0.  I’m feeling pretty good about my Dallas moneyline bet right now.

7:50 – That’s what happens when you give the ball to Mike Bell.  More Pierre Thomas please, Coach Payton.

7:51 – Nice call by Millen there.  That sack was on Thomas.  Got sucked up too close to the line after the playaction.

7:54 – When NFL Network pitches the Red Zone Channel, they really should throw Scott Hanson some love.  Something like, “Hosted by Scott Hanson,” or, “With studio host Scott Hanson.”  The dude deserves some respect.

7:56 – Romo’s throws have been right on the money tonight.  Until a horrible pass that should have been picked.  Looks like he was expecting Austin to keep heading toward the sideline.

7:57 – He makes up for it with that absolutely beautiful throw to Patrick Crayton.  The Cowboys have really come out with a sense of urgency tonight.

8:03 – They just called a timeout, but I hope the Cowboys stick with their decision to go for this.  Not much to gain with a punt, most likely.

8:06 – The crowd doesn’t like the penalty call on Roy Williams there.  I guess the crowd doesn’t really know what illegal contact is.

8:17 – Pierre Thomas territory.  Come on, let’s do this.

8:20 – And not even close.  We’re not putting much of a dent into the damage done by Mo-Jo and Clark on Thursday.

8:25 – I can’t believe the Cowboys don’t use Felix Jones more often.  He’s so explosive, but it seems they really limit his touches.

8:29 – So Marion Barber forgot that it was a delayed draw?  Crazy that Romo still got eight yards out of it.  Must have been a very adept play call.

8:33 – I’m always amazed at how often safeties and corners drop easy picks.  That one probably would’ve been a touchdown.

8:35 – It doesn’t get much better than Drew Brees when it comes to looking safeties off before coming back to the open man across the middle.  He’s done it a few times on this drive alone.

8:39 – Brutally underthrown pass by Brees for a pick.

8:46 – Man you just don’t see Brees lost in the pocket like that very often.  It came from his blindside, but you usually don’t see him in a position like that.

8:52 – Kind of a weak call on the face mask against Flozell Adams, but you’re gonna get that every time the head snaps back.

9:09 – Miles Austin does a great job coming back to the ball — then drops the pass.  Ouch.

9:12 – Really nice catch by Kevin Ogletree.  Great job getting both feet down in bounds.  In that instance, some foolish announcers out there would like to use the phrase “presence of mind.”  That’s the worst phrase in the history of the world I think.  It’s typically used in a situation like a receiver getting both feet in bounds or an outfielder crashing into the wall, falling down, and still throwing the ball in to the infield.  Yeah, he had great presence of mind to do something germane to his sport and position, something he’s been doing his whole life and has become second nature.

9:15 – Nice play by Romo to take the checkdown to Witten.  Jay Cutler would have thrown it blindly to the back in the flat.  That’s my biggest complaint about Cutler.  Far too often, he forces the ball to the receiver the play is designed for.  You have to be willing to take the checkdown.

9:27 – Took a break to watch the end of the Bulls game.  However, we’re heading to overtime.  Bulls-Hawks tied at 95.  Last possession was pretty scatterbrained, but Luol ended up getting a nice look that didn’t drop.

9:34 – Romo escapes a sack and then makes another move to pick up a first down.  He has played great in all aspects tonight.  Dallas is so much more dangerous when he plays like this.

9:37 – Anytime I see/hear/think of Marvin Williams, I think of how badly Atlanta needed a point guard and how they took him over Chris Paul and Deron Williams.

9:44 – Calling it right now before it happens.  The Bulls are up by three with 10.8 seconds left.  They better foul before the Hawks get a chance to put up a three.

9:45 – They didn’t, but Joe Johnson missed his three from the elbow.  Can’t believe Bibby didn’t pull the three he had at the top of the key right off the inbounds.

9:49 – This commercial with beer glasses chiming the tune of “Let it Snow” would be a lot cooler if it weren’t for Bud Light.  It’s not even a beer, can we all at least agree on that?

9:52 – Did you know Luol Deng only averages 1.8 assists per game?  He plays 38.5 minutes per game and can’t even pick up two assists?  You should be able to luck your way into two assists simply by passing it to a guy who makes a jump shot when you play that many minutes.

9:58 – David Thomas is having a big game.  Eight catches, 77 yards.  It just goes to show that you can always find a tight end in a fantasy league, and should almost never pay a premium price to get one.

10:04 – As a Randy Moss fantasy owner, I’m very happy with all the trash being talked about him this week.  I think he’s gonna put up a huge number and remind everyone why he’s one of the three best receivers of all time.

10:07 – The Saints had Romo completely confused with what they were showing at the line there.  I think they’ll bring the heat, which should leave your hot receiver open.

10:09 – A Tim Doyle-like spin by Romo before a first down throw.  You loyal Big Ten-ers should get that one.

10:16 – Is this for real?  The Saints might be the luckiest team ever.

10:18 – Brees has to be ready to bat that down.  He just wasted the two minute warning by catching that ball.  I know instinct tells him to catch it, but that’s something that simply has to be in your head before every play as a quarterback.

10:21 – The Saints just huddled.  On 4th and 10.  With 1:30 left.  And no timeouts.  Maybe they don’t care about going undefeated after all.

10:29 – DeMarcus Ware absolutely abuses Jermon Bushrod to force the fumble — his second sack and second forced fumble of the night — to lock up the win for the Cowboys.  I’m happy, because the Saints have deserved to lose for the last three weeks or so, and it would have been a travesty if they got lucky off another missed chip shot field goal.  On another note, it was a fun night of live blogging for me.  Thanks for checking in with Turning Two.

Peyton Manning walks up to the line of scrimmage.  He deftly surveys the defense and their formation.  The crowd noise blisters his eardrums.  The linebackers are showing blitz.  One of them is glaring at him homicidally.  Manning quickly glances at the play clock.  He starts his cadence.  “Green 48…Green 48!  Hut, hut!,” but where is the ball?  He doesn’t feel it snap comfortably into his large hands.  In fact, he doesn’t even see the center.  He’s got no line, no receivers, no backs. He is out there all by himself. 

On the third hut he grabs the ball and runs the only play he can – a one man quarterback sneak.  With only one man, it is not very sneaky, and 11 men jump angrily on his back driving him to the turf.  Football, as you see, is a team effort. 

Your health, as we say at Fantasy Healthball, is also a team effort.  Re-learning how to eat and following our nutrition and exercise guidelines won’t be simple.  If it were simple, everyone would be slim, trim, and live to see their grandchildren’s children.  The word “liposuction” would never have been invented.  The world would have been spared ever seeing Richard Simmons in spandex yelling, “Come on girls, shake those buns with me, you can do it!”  But improving your health, losing weight, re-learning how to eat, and exercising takes work.  And as they say, “many hands make light work.”

Re-learning how to eat is much easier if you can get support from other members of your household:  spouse, family members, roommates, etc.  If you are dedicated to eating right, and your roommate is constantly stocking the kitchen shelves with bon bons or high-calorie, high-fat super sugar fun cakes or whatever, that isn’t helping anybody.  You can change your eating habits on your own, but it is a lot easier with support.  You can run through and over would-be tacklers, but it is a lot easier if you have some blocking!

We recommend talking about your health goals to the people you live with and/or the people you work most closely with or spend the most time with.  Will power is much easier if unhealthy food isn’t around you to begin with.  Speaking from my own experience, if the unhealthy food is right in front of me, it is hard to pass it up.  But if it is not there, it is much easier for me to grab an apple or banana or raisins or any of the World’s Healthiest Foods. 

Building up your team of supporters will also help you in other ways.  As teammates, they will help you achieve your goals, whether that is giving you time to walk around the block for 30 minutes a day or keeping their high-cal, high-fat, super sugar fun cakes in a special place away from where your food is, or work colleagues bringing you fruit instead of Costco cookies.  They can give you moral support to and cheer you on.  Hey, they might even join you.  Be a workout partner.  Make healthy meals together.  Try new recipes! Or, if they play fantasy sports, make it a friendly competition by playing Fantasy Healthball!

So remember, you can do this alone.  Email us for some more tips on how to do it alone.  But the going is much easier with a team around you.  People who care and want you to achieve your goals.  Don’t run three quarterback sneaks and then punt on 4th down.  Use your team for a balanced and high scoring offense.  – Jim Ballard

It’s time for Turning Two’s first ever live blog!  In addition to this being a good matchup, I have a major interest in this game for my fantasy semifinal against a pair of morons known as Yuriy and Ciech.  They have Maurice Jones-Drew, Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark.  Let’s go defense!

7:25 – Cheering for defense isn’t fun.  Mike Sims-Walker picks up first downs on first two third downs.

7:26 – Every time Mo-Jo touches the ball is pretty scary.  I think it’ll be better when the Colts are on offense.

7:28 – Is Ty Pennington 15 years old?  Sweet necklaces.

7:30 – 3rd and 2 and the Colts drop deep in coverage?  No bump at the line whatsoever?  Not surprisingly, Sims-Walker picks up a first down on a slant for about seven yards.

7:32 – Eric Foster just saved a touchdown with that sack.  Marcedes Lewis was streaking to the end zone all by himself.

7:39 – My friend, Karl, who bet on the Jags +3, “I’m fine with 7-3.”  He’s a big fan of reverse jinxes.

7:44 – Cheering against Peyton Manning isn’t fun either.  A few big catches for Clark on this first drive.

7:45 – That was the fastest first quarter ever, I think.  There’s only been two possessions.

7:48 – And after that touchdown, Clark already has a big game.  Very nice throw and catch.

7:53 – Dear Budweiser: I’m not sure being “the lightest beer in the world” is something to brag about.  It’s not even beer.

7:58 – Jones-Drew is one of the best in the league with the stiff arm.

8:00 – MSW is a third-down converting beast tonight.

8:02 – Curtis Loew’s Dobro Band is gonna need a big one.  Nice play by David Garrard with his legs before finding Mo-Jo for a touchdown.

8:09 – No thanks on Avatar for me.  I also don’t remember the last time I saw a movie in theaters, so I guess it’s a moot point.

8:14 – Matt Millen: “A lot of people don’t really know this Jacksonville Jaguar team.”  Unfortunately, a lot of those people live in Jacksonville.

8:17 – Jones-Drew is a beast at the goal line.  Hard to get lower than him, and if you don’t, he’ll keep those legs churning.

8:21 – Jacksonville’s offense has looked pretty unbelievable tonight.  Two TDs and a field goal, 180 yards, 4-for-5 on third down.

8:26 – Peyton Manning: 12-for-12, 116 yards, 2 touchdowns.  This game has been an offensive showcase.

8:30 – Horrible decision by Garrard to take a shot down the sideline.  Gotta get into a more manageable field goal range.  Scobee is obviously capable of hitting a 57-yarder (that 50-yarder he hit would’ve been good from 60), but I feel like when kickers know they’re kicking a really long field goal, they get out of their mechanics trying to drive the ball.  The huge hook on Scobee’s kick suggests he did just that.

8:49 – Dallas Clark hearing footsteps.  Don’t see that too often, and it leads to a pick.

8:53 – Line judges controlling the spot of the ball on a short run is the most inexact science in all of sports.

8:57 – I had a dream Mark DeRosa was back on the Cubs last night.  I’m not saying I necessarily want that to happen, especially since he’s looking for a three-year deal.  It was still pretty cool though.

9:04 – Reggie Wayne is one of the best in the league at coming back to the ball.

9:06 – Man, Clark is killing me.  Guess my theory about his scoring three TDs last week was unfounded, misguided, just plain dumb.

9:09 – That is terrible tackling by the safety.  What happened to wrapping a guy up?

9:17 – Pretty much perfect coverage by Jacob Lacey on Torry Holt.  Drove him to the sideline, found the ball and defensed it.  Good stuff.

9:25 – Man I really wanted the Bears to get Reggie Nelson when he was coming out of college.

9:29 – Marlon Byrd, Scott Podsednik, Rick Ankiel, Reed Johnson.  Ugh.  Can we get Kenny Lofton, circa 2003, to come back.

9:31 – Garrard has made either perfect throws or missed his receiver by five yards.  There’s been no in between.

9:33 – “Not too heavy, not too light, not too good.  Bud Light.”

9:36 – Peyton Manning seriously never gets hit.  It wouldn’t be the craziest thing to commit a brutal personal foul penalty early in the game hitting him way late just to let him remember what it feels like.

9:43 – It’s pretty sweet that Pat Summerall is still doing voiceovers.  “There’s a flag on the play.”

9:48 – Helluva catch by Tim Jennings even though he was out of bounds.  Great anticipation and he reeled it in with one hand.

9:50 – Said perfectly by my buddy Nate: “For the amount of potato chips out there, why would anybody buy Munchos?”

10:00 – Another huge sack for Foster.  Very impressive rush there by the Colts.

10:06 – Great game.  Love it when the Thursday nighter is a barnburner like this one.

10:09 – 3rd and 6, a draw to Mo-Jo.  That’s a sick play call right there.

10:10 – Great news on the Cubs, via MLBTradeRumors.com: Cubs Still Not Close to Dealing Bradley.  SWEET!!!

10:12 – Pressure by Mathis forces a high throw, luckily for the Colts because the receiver was wide open.  Colts move to 14-0.

10:14 – I think Scott Hanson is going to intuitively throw it to double box during this interview with Manning.

10:16 – Final tally on Jones-Drew, Addai and Clark: 58.55 points.  CLDB needs to put up a number.

Chris Henry and family picture.

Henry suffered severe head injuries after falling out of the rear end of a truck Wednesday afternoon, and remained on life support before finally succumbing to his injuries at 6:36 a.m. ET Thursday morning at Carolinas Medical Center. Henry, who was 26 years old, leaves behind his fiancée Loleini Tonga, and three children: 3-year-old Seini, 2-year old Chris Jr. and 10-month old DeMarcus.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police detectives have been investigating Wednesday’s events, which were described as a “domestic situation” involving Henry and Tonga. According to police, a dispute at a Charlotte-area home led to Tonga leaving the residence in a truck. Henry jumped into the bed of the vehicle and then fell into the street nearly a half mile from the home. When police and paramedics responded to the scene, police said Henry had suffered life-threatening injuries, including severe head trauma… – Read full article…

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry has died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police announced Thursday morning.